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Review of Sweetly, Deeply, Absolutely and Giveaway!

Publication Date: October 17, 2016

Jenny Boyd and Jared Crews are like two peas in a pod: they like to party and have sex and not necessarily in that order. Their attraction to each other is instantaneous and the only thing that is keeping them apart is that Jared enjoys living and he’s sure that Jenny’s intimidating older brother, Rick, will end his life if he and Jenny did anything. “It’s all fun and games until the condom breaks.”

When I first started reading Jenny’s thoughts and actions, I had this moment of: oh, no. This is going to read like a teenager on spring break in Florida—Hedonism Zone, no apologies, no prisoners, I’m on vacation and anything goes. Not exactly the kind of mentality I wanted to spend 200+ pages with. Fortunately, Jenny became earthier and more likeable and I was caught up by the characters and situations in Kira Archer’s involving romance.

Archer added some nice touches like the fact that Jenny is intrigued by owls and enjoys bird watching and that Jared is a really good artist as well as a really nice guy and friend despite his reputation as a player, nuances making characters more real. The secondary characters were quirky and important to the novel; their stories had been shared in the other novels of Archer’s Sweet Love series.

By the time I learned the outcome of the breaking condom scenario, I liked both Jared and Jenny. The only reason, besides the beginning that I didn’t give Sweetly, Deeply, Absolutely that one extra butterfly is that the ending just didn’t feel right to me, and unneeded action that seemed to spoil who the characters had been up to that point and I can’t go into specifics because of my no-spoiler rule. Regardless, I do however highly recommend Sweetly, Deeply, Absolutely for it’s unique and endearing pair of Jared and Jenny and for the plotline that definitely kept my attention.

This is definitely one sweet love!

I received an ARC from Tasty Book Tours and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

“So let me draw you, then.”
“What, like pose for you?”
“Yes.”
She hesitated. “Like those?” She pointed at the portraits he had hanging on the wall.
He shrugged. “Any way you’d like to pose.”
“Hmm. Lying naked on a couch like in Titanic?”
He laughed and pulled her in close. “If you were naked on a couch I’m not sure I’d be able to keep my hands on my pencils.”
“Ah, but touching the model wouldn’t be professional, would it?” She ran her hands up his chest and he put his hands over hers, hoping she’d leave them there. He’d missed her touch. Had begun to crave it like an addict going through a withdrawal.
For a moment he thought she might draw him closer. But the moment passed. She dropped her hands and stepped away and he closed his eyes against the near physical pain of it.
“Well, I’m nothing if not professional,” he said quietly.
She didn’t look at him for a moment, but when she did her smile was back in place. “How do you want to draw me?” She raised her gaze to him and held it, her sea green eyes boring into his until he felt like he was drowning in them.
He grabbed his sketch pad and a pencil and held out his hand. “Come with me.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him, but took his hand. He led her out of the studio and down the hall to his bathroom where a big, old fashioned claw tub stood.
“You want to draw me taking a bath?”
He chuckled. “I’d actually love to watch you taking a bath, but I’m not sure how long I could remain on the outside of the tub.”
Her cheeks flushed and it was all he could do not to crush her against him and kiss her until she was moaning in his arms. He took a deep breath to get a little control and led her over to the tub and handed her a big, fluffy towel.
“I want to draw you sitting on the edge, your back to me, bare,” he said, his hand tracing the outline of her body down to where her waist met the swell of her hips, “down to here. With the towel draped over the rest of you.”
She watched him watching her, and then she held out her hand for the towel. He’d meant to turn around, give her privacy to undress. He wasn’t sure why. They’d seen each other naked. Several times. The image of her beautiful body would be ingrained in his mind until the day he died and hopefully long afterwards.
But she didn’t give him the option. She pulled her shirt off over her head. Unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them down her legs until she could step out of them. She stared right at him as she reached behind her to unhook her bra and let it slide off her arms. Her panties followed.
She stood before him, bare, breathtakingly beautiful. Neither one of them moved. His heart jack-hammered in his chest, while his body warred with itself. The desire to touch her, draw her into his arms and hold her there forever, made him ache. But the privilege of standing before such perfection was a moment he’d cherish the rest of his life. He wouldn’t ruin it by making an advance that might drive her away. For now, it was enough. More than enough, to just look and worship the unique beauty before him.
A faint smile touched her lips and she turned to sit on the edge of the tub, arranging the towel beneath her. She leaned forward and turned the faucet on. Within moments, steaming water began to fill the tub.
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Seems a shame to waste the chance to soak in such a beautiful tub. Since I’m right here.”
Jared smiled and began to draw.
She raised her arms to gather her hair in a bun. A few tendrils escaped to tumble down her back. Absolutely perfect. He sketched quickly, his fingers drawing the lines he longed to touch in person, following the contours of her body.
He finished one sketch and pulled out more paper. She shut off the water and stood, swirling the water about with one foot. He drew her from that angle as well. Long, strong lines. Muscles defined beneath the soft curves of her body. He drew until he couldn’t take it anymore.
And then he put the paper aside and went to her.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kira Archer resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kiddos, and far too many animals in the house. She tends to laugh at inappropriate moments, break all the rules she gives her kids (but only when they aren’t looking), and would rather be reading a book than doing almost anything else. She has odd, eclectic tastes in just about everything and often lets her imagination run away with her. She loves her romances a little playful, a lot sexy, and always with a happily ever after.